This bill authorizes 99-year leases for land held in trust for federally recognized Indian Tribes, aligning their leasing requirements with those currently applied to the Chehalis Reservation.
Thom Tillis
Senator
NC
This bill expands leasing authority for federally recognized Indian Tribes by amending existing law to allow for leases of up to 99 years on land held in trust for them. It standardizes these leasing requirements to align with those currently in place for the Chehalis Reservation.
New Tribal Land Bill Standardizes 99-Year Leases for All Federally Recognized Tribes
This legislation simplifies the rules for how Native American tribes manage their land by allowing any federally recognized tribe to lease out trust land for up to 99 years. By amending the Indian Long-Term Leasing Act (25 U.S.C. 415(a)), the bill removes the current patchwork of rules where only specific tribes, like the Chehalis, had this long-term authority. Now, every tribe on the official federal list would operate under the same high-level leasing standards, providing a uniform legal framework for land use across the country.
Breaking the 25-Year Barrier
For most people, a lease is something you sign for an apartment for a year or two. But for major projects—like building a grocery store, a solar farm, or a manufacturing plant—businesses usually need decades of certainty before they drop millions of dollars into construction. Under the old rules, many tribes were stuck with 25-year lease limits unless they got specific, individual permission from Congress to go longer. This bill cuts that red tape by making the 99-year option the standard. For a small business owner looking to open a franchise on tribal land or a developer planning a housing complex, this change means they can actually get a bank loan because the lease term finally matches the lifespan of the investment.
Economic Engines and Sovereignty
By treating all federally recognized tribes the same way the law currently treats the Chehalis Reservation, the bill levels the playing field for economic development. In practice, this looks like a tribe being able to negotiate a long-term contract for a new health clinic or a data center without waiting for a literal act of Congress to approve the timeline. It shifts the power back to tribal governments to decide how their land is used over the next century. Because the bill requires these new leases to follow the established requirements of the Indian Long-Term Leasing Act, it maintains federal oversight while removing the administrative hurdles that often stall local projects for years.